The invention is an improvement in a railroad car hopper door latching mechanism as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,238,898 or 3,240,165, each of which shows and describes the use of a pair of hook-like catches which are fixedly disposed adjacent a drop bottom hopper door. A pair of L-shaped latches having oval cams with outstanding legs are carried by the hopper door and are rotatable, in unison, into and out of interlocking engagement with the catches. A pawl is provided to contact one of the latches to prevent the latches from being accidentally rotated out of interlocking engagement with the catches. These components of the latching mechanism become worn with use and loosely engage each other, thereby enhancing the chances of their being joustled out of interlocking engagement, as the hopper cars are transported from one location to another, so that the hopper doors can accidentally drop open. The invention is directed to the provision of a safety mechanism for further insuring that the latching mechanism stays in a locked position.
Briefly stated, the invention is in a latching mechanism for a railroad car hopper door. The mechanism comprises a pair of hook-like catches which are fixedly secured adjacent the lateral marginal edges of the hopper door. A pair of latches are carried by the hopper door for interlocking engagement with the catches. A pawl, also carried by the hopper door, is rotatable into and out of interlocking engagement with one of the latches to maintain the pair of latches interlocked with the pair of catches. A spring biased plunger is provided to frictionally engage the pawl and aid in the prevention of disengagement of the pawl and latch.